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Monday, February 29, 2016

I'm inclined to agree. Cardinal Bernardin used to do the same thing. He'd articulate a teaching of the Church and then make a statement about conscience or some other point to undermine the doctrine and imply that ignoring the doctrine was fine. Bernardin-watchers got used to the tactic.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Climate change is a fact of life. Sometimes the climate is warming; sometimes the climate is cooling. Whenever the Chicken Littles start screaming, "The planet is warming; the planet is freezing. We're all going to die!" remind them of the Medieval warm period and the ice age. Warm happens; cold happens. It's all part of the cycle! Trust in God. The Messiah who calmed the wind and the waves is in charge of the planet He made. Trust in God and stop the hysteria. It's all about power, money, and manipulation. Don't play the game!

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky offers a sobering article on the way "good" people make peace with evil in their lives. Death bed conversions are rare. As we live, so we are likely to die. If we have rationalized grave evils like abortion, contraception, "murdering" the reputations of others, etc. are we likely to even recognize them as evil on our death beds? If a personnel director makes sure abortion, contraception, physician-assisted suicide, trans gender surgery, etc. are covered in his company's health plan, well, how likely is he to see those things as evil? Even if he is personally against them, he is likely to rationalize offering "choices" to others (even evil ones) as a necessary part of doing business. It isn't his sin, after all, if a woman decides to kill her baby or even herself. The fact that she might not have done it without the scandal of the company telling her abortion or physician-assisted suicide are acceptable "choices" will likely escape him.

We would do well to examine our consciences in the light of Christ's grace begging Him to reveal the sins we hide from ourselves. All of us have blind spots and just like missing the car in our "blind spot" on the road can lead to a disastrous accident, so can missing the serious sins in our lives have disastrous spiritual consequences. After all, what can be more disastrous than going to hell because we rationalized our gravest sins? Please Lord, don't let me blind to those things in my life that threaten my eternal salvation? Show me myself as You see me, so I can repent and turn to you with a clean heart.

I'll close with Fr. Pokorsky's question:

"Have we ourselves – traditional-minded, pro-life Catholics made peace with some profound evil that has been buried somewhere in the tangle of our minds? What sins or patterns of sin are we overlooking or rationalizing when we go to Confession? If we could see ourselves with the eyes of others – through the eyes of God – what would we see?"

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Remember that sin isn't only a positive action, but an omission. Failing to act can be just as evil as acting. This woman was murdered by neglect as well as abuse and the system failed her. We are frequently told that a "living will" or advanced directive will guarantee we get the care we desire near life's end. Well...not necessarily. It's not enough to have an advanced directive as this article clearly shows -- especially if you have a big estate. Make sure you designate someone you can trust with your advanced care intentions.

On the other hand, it would be less of a problem if the rich gave more to the poor. Greed can be a big motivator to do evil!

Today's gospel reading is Jesus relating the parable of the prodigal son.

I have a confession to make. Whenever I read that story, I can't help sympathizing with (and relating to?) the older brother. His part of the story begins with the fact that he "was coming in from the fields." That tells me he was out working. Of course, he's working for himself as well as for his father because one day all the property remaining will be his. The younger son already got his share. At least, that's what the story says. But maybe the older son thinks all that will change. Now that his younger brother is back will Dad not only kill the fatted calf, but give half the herd to his brother? Will he change his mind and write younger brother back into the will? What exactly was going on in the mind of the older son? We only know from his actions that he resented what his father did in welcoming back his sibling.

Friday, February 26, 2016

I love the beach! The sound of the surf seems to me to be the heartbeat of the earth. And when I'm walking the beach, I almost always start thinking about it as a metaphor for life: its quiet times, its upheavals, its blessings and challenges.

What's going on in your life right now? Are you in the calm with the sun shining and clear, starry nights? Is your little boat floating gently on a quiet sea? Or are you in the midst of a storm with buffeting winds and teeming rain? Or is it even worse with a raging tornado bearing down on you as you race for cover? Life can deal with us roughly. Our boats can be tossed on waves that threaten to capsize us any minute.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

One thing, though, that seemed to be sadly consistent was the willingness of bishops to either cover up for the real predators or throw good priests with no evidence under the bus based on unsubstantiated accusations. It was easier to settle out of court and hush everything up than stand up for the truth. And that is part of the reason we're in the mess we're in.

Remember when you hear about the sex abuse scandals the other scandal in the story -- persecution and destruction of the reputations of innocent priests.

Pray for all innocent priests who suffered grave injustice because of their refusal to perjure themselves in plea bargains.

We prayed our rosary today in an old cemetery. There were so many graves of little children from the 19th century: a brother and sister who were a toddler and a newborn, a teenage girl and her 9-year-old brother who drowned, the grave of a little one who died after a few days with the gravestone message, "Budded on earth, bloomed in heaven."

We saw at least a dozen graves of confederate soldiers and sailors some who clearly died in the war and others who lived to tell about it. There were graves of men and women taken in the prime of life and two graves of women who were nearly 100 when they died. They were the exception.

We prayed our usual intentions for family and friends both living and dead and for all those buried in the cemetery as well. Walking through a cemetery is a sobering experience. Nothing is guaranteed: not tomorrow, not next week, not the next minute. As Fr. James Buckley reminds retreatants during his Ignatian retreats, he once saw a gravestone in an English cemetery that read, "What you are I once was, what I am you will be." There is nothing more certain than death and judgment.

Each of us would do well to reflect on death, especially during Lent. The Church urges us to think often about the four last things: death, judgment, heaven or hell. There are saints who made their examination of conscience at the end of the day imagining themselves in hell and asking, "What did you do today, poor soul, to land you in this evil place?" Not a bad idea for people who don't want to go there.

'We are teetering here on the brink of national disintegration and in this hour of immense and profound consequence, millions of Americans hoist a showboating charlatan on their shoulders and appoint him savior.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

I'm listening to a radio dramatization of The Lord of the Rings and am finding it an invitation to Lenten meditation. The evil Lord of the East, Sauron (Satan), attacks the West seeking the one ring of power forged in Mordor. He would be the Lord of the world ruling over all through the power of the ring, a dark power that corrups all who use it.

The world of Middle Earth sounds very much like our own time with darkness coming over all the land. Evil riders in black scour the land doing Sauron's bidding. In many places the land has been scorched. The peoples of Middle Earth live more and more in fear of the growing threat.

At this point I'm not surprised by anything this pope says or does, but the idea that Pope Paul VI giving nuns in danger of being raped permission to use contraceptives (probably barrier methods) is totally different than giving permission for contraception for Zika. Those nuns were not sexually active and trying to prevent pregnancy. They were using contraceptives like a police officer uses a bullet proof vest to protect himself from a shooter's bullet.

Gratitude is one of the greatest virtues. It is the foundation of many others. To say thank-you is a profound act and one that expresses humility. The proud person doesn't think he owes gratitude to anyone; they owe gratitude to him. But to send an unexpected thanks, a gratuitous thanks like Justice Scalia did with the letter below is an especially gracious act. After I post this I'm going to write a long overdue thank-you note to a priest friend.

"Bill Ritchie, a retired deputy chief and former head of criminal investigations for the DC police, said he was dumbstruck when he learned that no autopsy would be performed. 'I took a look at the report and I almost fell out of my chair,' Ritchie told The Post from his home in Maryland. 'I used to be an instructor in the homicide school. Every death investigation you are handling, you consider it a homicide until the investigation proves otherwise,' Ritchie said."

Sure leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Also makes you wonder about that great "conservative" state of Texas.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

If you want to see how Justice Scalia resembled Jesus read the article below, a personal story of an event witnessed by Jeffrey Tucker. As I read it, I thought of the picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and thought how close to Christ's heart Justice Scalia must have been.

I hope you are praying for the repose of this man's soul. He didn't just believe in the Catholic faith; he lived it. And while you reflect on his charity consider the disgrace of so many liberals tweeting glee over Scalia's death. No surprise really. Jesus said they would treat the servants like the Master and we all know how they treated Him. May each of us resolve to imitate the charity of those who treat the lowly and unimportant as if they are pearls of great price.

One of the advantages of selling baby body parts is reducing the amount of "tissue" that has to be disposed of. Hey, Planned Parenthood already has the Nazis extermination policy down cold. They just need to expand on the Nazis example by setting up crematoria on the premises of their death camps. I expect one would see the face of Satan in the smoke coming out of the stacks. But they would rather let someone else do their dirty disposal work: Stericycle.

Lent is a good time to work on developing our virtues and squelching our vices. So let's consider one of the seven deadly sins, anger. What is it and can anger ever be a good thing?

In view of the fact that God often expressed anger toward the evil behavior of the Israelites and Christ expressed anger toward the money changers in the temple and the hypocrisy of the pharisees, anger cannot be a universal evil. Fr. James Schall has an interesting article on the Catholic Thing discussing anger. You may be surprised at some of what he says:

Take a good look at that baby and then remember the videos of the babies being "harvested" by Planned Parenthood. These babies are the "least of God's little ones." They deserve our special love and protection if we expect to receive that same love and protection from God.

Every day during the rest of Lent I'm going to say a Memorare for all the mothers thinking of abortion. I'm asking the Blessed Mother to help them to actually "see" their little ones with the eyes of the heart and to choose life for them. Will you join me right now in that prayer intention? "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me." Amen.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Antonin Scalia will be greatly missed and Michael Hichborn shows us just how much wisdom he left behind for those of us who struggle on in the morass of our current disintegrating culture. Hichborn's two concluding paragraphs give us food for thought:

1) not one witness present.2) the security detail (U.S. Marshals) which usually provides security for him, was dismissed and not present.2) he was found dead with a pillow over his head.3) pronounced dead by a judge over the phone without ever seeing the body.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Gap, where Don Ritchie saved over 150souls from suicide offering tea and conversation

Check out this cartoon explanation of what's at stake. If you've ever seen a friend or loved one in a psychotic state because they went off their meds, you know these illnesses are real and the people suffering from them need help. People with diabetes or high blood pressure need medication to control their conditions. Those with mental health issues also sometimes need medication. It's nothing for which to be ashamed.

No one who has a physical illness requiring medication carries a stigma. Neither should we stigmatize those with mental illness. Reaching out may help somebody suicidal choose life by getting help. My sister-in-law and I were chatting this morning and she told me about an Australian man who lived across from a cliff, the world's worst suicide spot. He would see people there who appeared to be considering suicide. His response? To go over and chat and invite them over for tea. He saved dozens of people from making the tragic mistake of taking their own lives.

Don Ritchie is a hero. He died in 2012, but he's not forgotten. Keep your eyes open to recognize those in your life who are struggling. Open your ears to listen to them. They might be obnoxious. Listen to them anyway. They might be abusive. Listen anyway. They might do irrational things. Listen anyway. You can't fix what's wrong, but you may be a lifeline for them by just listening and loving them. Here's a website that might help a suffering soul know he or she isn't alone. As Hail Holy Queen says, we live in a "vale of tears." Some travel that valley without hope. Lets offer them some.

People need to study history. Catholics particularly need to understand why the Crusades took place -- because the Islamic Turks were invading Europe and threatening to eliminate Christianity in favor of the Islamic caliphate.

Two years after Sr. Mariana made her vows, God showed her a way to pray and meditate that would bring her quickly to sanctity. Each morning had its own particular focus on an element of the Passion. In the afternoon the meditations focused on self examination and the four last things (Taken from the biography by Msgr. Luis Cadena y Almeida) The program reminds me very much of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Think of the progress a soul could make who committed just ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes in the afternoon to follow this spiritual method recommended by God Himself. I'm going to start this tomorrow morning when I go for my adoration Holy Hour. Why not join me. Our Lady of Good Success, help us to make a true success of Lent by growing closer to your Son Jesus.

I wrote just a bit about them here. Any holy person described as an "industrious little bee" is an intercessor after my own heart. Sr. Mariana left Spain with her Aunt, an abbess, and several other sisters to found a convent in Quito in the 16th century. She was only 13 and a young postulant, but on fire with love of God. She bravely faced the dangerous trip across the ocean and then the long and arduous treck across the mountains of Ecuador where she spent the rest of her life. Sr. Mariana of Jesus, intercede for us that we might be as diligent to grow in the spiritual life as you were. Our Lady of Good Success, pray for us.

NAF (the National Abortion Federation) was founded in 1977 to support and connect abortion mills around the country and promote the abortion agenda. They claim to provide strict guidelines to their member centers to protect patients, but they are really all about protecting abortion. Here's what Barbara Radford told 60 Minutes in 1991:

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Have you seen the pope's latest video? What exactly is going on here? The green movement promotes one world government and draconian implementation of environmentalism. Is that really what Catholics should be concerned about?

If the pope is going to talk about the sins against the planet, how about these:

A lot of people would pooh-pooh the idea that playing with a ouija board or taking the "Charlie Charlie Challenge" are spiritually dangerous and can be conduits for evil spirits. "They're just games," they might say. I was inclined to think that way about yoga until I had a serious conversation with a friend and did a little research. "It's just exercise and stretching." Well...maybe not.

Some of yoga's practices are clearly dangerous. The whole idea of "emptying yourself" in meditation is the opposite of Christian meditation where you are "filled" with the Holy Spirit. A person who is sitting and chanting a mantra and trying to dispel any thoughts, deliberately empty himself, is like the man in the parable who has a demon which is driven out. The house is clean and swept...and empty. The devil goes out, finds seven devils worse than himself and returns to "fill up" the empty house. [Luke 11:26]

The subject of Freemasonry is complicated. It has a long and mysterious history involving people across several continents and individuals whose personal reputations we often find difficult to criticize. My own father and grandfather were Freemasons My brother is also a Freemason, and though I have tried diligently to convince him to leave it, he is certain it is not what I believe it to be. I know these men to be good and decent fathers and husbands. I have lived with them and loved them; it is difficult to imagine they were involved in anything as ugly as Freemasonry has proven to be.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Four hundred years ago, Our Lady of Good Success appeared to a Spanish nun, Sr. Mariana de Jesus Torres, in Quito, Ecuador and warned about a crisis in the Church arising at the end of the 19th century and becoming even worse after the middle of the 20th century. I'm going to be studying this approved apparition and sharing about it, not to frighten anyone, but to show how crucial it is to listen to Our Lady and respond to her call for her children to pray and sacrifice. The only solution to these evils is for faithful Catholics to grow in personal holiness and commit to lives of prayer and penance to help make up for "what's lacking in the suffering of Christ." What could possibly be lacking in the suffering of Christ? Our cooperation in his act of redemption. He won't force it, but wants us to offer it by conforming our will to His. What better time to embrace Christ's cross of suffering than during the holy season of Lent? Listen to our Blessed Mother and imitate her "Yes!"

I know a police office who arrested a street thug one day. The angry man told the officer he better watch out because he was going to get his wife and children. The officer took him aside for a private conversation and told him in effect, "If you ever hurt my family, the world won't be big enough for you to hide in. I will track you and find you and kill you." Needless to say, the thug who was a coward at heart, apologized and insisted he didn't really mean it.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Remember the ice bucket challenge? Well, there's a new challenge out there -- the Stations of the Cross Workout Challenge for Lent. First they do the prayer and workout; then they challenge others to do it as well.

St. Agatha, one of the early Roman martyrs, lived during a time of tremendous sexual immorality. What is known of her is from the tradition of the Church. Wealthy and renowned for her beauty, many sought her in marriage, but she dedicated herself to God praying, "Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make me worthy to overcome the devil."

A determined young woman, Agatha resisted the advances of a high Roman official, Quintian, who thought he could force her into an immoral relationship. When she spurned him he retaliated. As a judge, he sent her to a brothel where she refused the advances of the customers. Quintian had her tortured, her breasts cut off, and ordered her rolled in hot coals. Nevertheless, she prayed as she was dying, "Lord, my Creator, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Receive my soul."

Thursday, February 4, 2016

I blogged the other day posting an article about Zika from a holistic health point of view. I knew as soon as I saw the first articles linking Zika to birth defects that Zika would be used to scare women into having abortions and the article above illustrates just how accurate that was.

Pray for women considering abortion and support your local pregnancy help center. We can offer women better options than killing their children!

None of us should become a despairing cynic over the pitiful state of our country, but there's no virtue in being a starry-eyed idealist either. Let's face it.

Politics stinks!
The reason it stinks is that it involves politicians. Most of them are motivated by greed, human respect, and lust for power; and almost all put pragmatism above principle. So I wasn't surprised when an acquaintance sent me these two articles about Ted Cruz and urged me to reconsider my support:

Well, how much is hype and how much is legit? I have no idea, but here's an interesting article (below) that I read today and, guess what? We have the genetic engineers involved again. Are we seeing the law of unintended consequences at work? Don't forget to take responsibility for your own health with common sense actions: healthy diet, no smoking, limited alcohol, Vitamin D, and a big dose of prayer and meditation which will help you to de-stress and remember that God is in control. If man would stop trying to play God we would all be much better off!

We hear a lot about tolerance today: tolerance for homosexuals and lesbians pretending to be married and playing house, tolerance for couples who fornicate freely and kill their babies, tolerance for every kind of sexual deviancy, tolerance for those who shove their sins in our faces and demand we approve them, etc. But there's one group that cannot be tolerated and must be shamed into changing their beliefs or gagged into utter silence:

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

If there were a feast day for old folks, I'd say it's today, the feast of the Presentation. Who do we find at the temple praying and waiting for the Messiah? Two elderly Jews who go to the temple night and day.

The Holy Spirit promised the old man Simeon that he would not die without seeing the salvation of Israel. And when Mary and Joseph bring the child in fulfillment of the law, Simeon is there, called by the Holy Spirit, and he takes the child in his arms and says to Mary, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted -- and you yourself a sword will pierce -- so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

Resistance to the federal landgrab was growing. As Finicum describes in this video, they were educating people about the unconstitutional land grabs by the feds. Seems a reasonable motive for the feds to want to keep the ringleaders away from the meeting.

The article below incorrectly puts the sheriff at the scene of the roadblock, but, as the comment explains, he was at the meeting as an observer. Apparently he did not arrange the community meeting but was participating until he got the news about the killing when he left to go to the scene.

Monday, February 1, 2016

If the eyewitnesses are telling the truth, Finicum's death was a cold-blooded murder! It's a miracle more of the protesters weren't killed.

Eyewitness Shawna Cox says that at the first roadblock the agents began firing. Victoria Sharp, 18, who was going to sing at the meeting was not arrested and she confirms what happened at the first stop. No wonder the protesters fled! At the second roadblock, Finicum got out calling out that they had women in the car. Clearly, the men had no expectation of the treachery in store for them and Finicum was trying to protect the women.

This is an excellent article by Donald DeMarco on the woman who birthed the abortion holocaust. I suspect her drug addiction to a near comatose state in the last years of her life was an attempt to cover up a guilt-ridden conscience. Happy people don't need alcohol and drugs to get through the day. Her life reminds me of Christopher Marlowe's play, The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus. Faust sells his soul to the devil for a very poor return and, after resisting opportunities for salvation, is carted off to hell in the end. Pray that this sad, selfish, murderous woman repented before she died and avoided the same fate.

There's a saying that virtue is its own reward. One could just as easily say sin is its own punishment. The history of the life and death of Margaret Sanger, who had so many talents and could have done such great things is, like Dr. Faustus, a tragedy.

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